Darwinism as an explanation for life is dead. The final death blow was administered by discoveries about intracellular nanomachinery, which amply satisfy Darwin's own test of falsification.
Dead, but it won't lie down. Evolutionism is propped up by the well organised and well funded enemies of Biblical Christianity as it is foundational to the secular humanist world view they hold so dear. This blog will criticise evolutionism and explore its harmful effects.

Wednesday, 5 November 2014

Intelligent design hypothesis-conclusion of reflections

Intelligent design hypothesis-conclusion of reflections

After posting a few reflections on ID over the last month or
so, I'd like to conclude for now with these thoughts.

Scientific endeavor is about hypothesis, measurement and testing. It always begins with a problem or
question, and it should be a worthy one. A philosopher whose name escapes me (Popper?) said that doing research into the cubic volume of books in a library would be a
theoretical subject for study, but pointless. Agreed. Not all research is
worthwhile. But big questions about origins are worth asking, and we had better
get the answers right since one of the options floating around out there is
that we have a creator to whom we are accountable and who plans to bring us
into judgment in eternity. Surely as the Christian philosopher and mathematician Blaise Pascal suggested in
his 'wager', if that option is even anywhere near the table we had better take
it very seriously? We ought at least not be willing to be thrown off the track
by bluster, censorship and slogans.

Fair questions, and old ones. We exist, our existence in this astonishing universe and marvelous planet seems very improbable but nevertheless here we are. we had to have originated somehow-so was it God or was it Chance? Its a question worth asking, and getting the right answer matters. As Dr Vij Sodera says (see link below) 'It doesn't matter what you believe as long as what you believe is true.'

It's probably true to say from anthropological studies and
history that most humans since the beginning of humanity have assumed that we
have a creator. Belief that the universe and its inhabitants were created by
atoms sticking together whether entirely accidentally or through some
impersonally 'life-force' (deism) go back to the ancients. I came across
the idea that we had formed from atoms in Marcus Aurelius and I understand
that Epicurus
was an atheist who accepted some form of evolution.

But obviously the idea
was developed by Darwin in his 1859 book 'Origin of Species' that humans and
other life forms developed by natural selection acting very slowly on naturally
occurring variations and became known as the theory of evolution. And it is
clear, notwithstanding the contradictions of professing Christians who say that
molecules to man evolution is compatible with biblical Christianity, that the
theory of evolution explains away our existence without recourse to a Great
Maker or creator. In my
opinion that has always been its purpose.

So what of ID? Clearly ID does not exist in a vacuum, it is primarily
an attempt by mainly (although not
exclusively) Christian believers to falsify evolutionary theory by using the
scientific method. Let's not be coy about this-but this is NOT an admission that
ID arguments are inadmissible because they are tainted by the motives of their
advocates, since CLEARLY the advocates of evolution are equally open to a
charge of wanting materialism/atheism to be true.

to summarise

1) The intelligent design (ID) hypothesis is not religious.
If its advocates have religious or philosophical motivations, then so equally
do evolution advocates. Similarly, if ID has metaphysical implications, so
equally does evolution theory. It is therefore NOT LEGITIMATE to exclude
consideration of ID arguments and questions by smearing them as creationism in
disguise.

2) ID makes observations and asks questions about structures
in the natural world, particularly nanomachinery and information in living
cells.

3) ID posits that unguided evolutionary mechanisms could not
possibly have made the living things that we observe, and that unguided molecule to man evolution by natural selection acting on random mutations is therefore falsified. (*)

4) ID also notes, using similar arguments to Lyell and
Darwin (the present is the key to the past) that we can observe the process and
results of purposeful design today. Applying the lessons learned from studying
design today, we find that living things share aspects of devices and structures that we know
from direct observation were designed and made. We therefore deduce that the living
things which we did not see originate were most likely designed by a superior intelligence. We deduce this on the grounds that we know from direct observation that complex, purposeful structures with numerous working parts routinely arise from intelligent design but are never seen to arise from unguided processes as evolutionists claim must have happened in the unobservable distant past.

I could go on but will leave it there for now.

Intelligent design
was a given for the Psalmist (e.g. Psalm 19:1 'the heavens are telling
the glory of God') and the Apostle Paul (Romans 1: 8-22 where he argues that the
divine nature is obviously seen through the things that have been made).

Going beyond the intelligent design hypothesis, the bible
believing Christian notes that we have good reasons for believing that the God
of Abraham, Moses, David, Isaiah, Daniel etc is the creator and has spoken to
us, most notably and finally through His Son Jesus, who was raised from the
dead and is coming again to judge the living and the dead. This Jesus and His Apostles
repeatedly warned about false teachers and false prophets who would come
particularly in the last days before the end of the world and would lead many
astray. Paul wrote to the church at Colossae (Col 2:8)

'Take care that no one
takes you away by force, through man's wisdom and deceit, going after the
beliefs of men and the theories of the world, and not after Christ:'

Intelligent design
basically shows, using scientific arguments and facts, why evolution theory doesn't
work. Ask yourself, why is ID routinely vilified, misrepresented and censored in the main
stream media? Ask yourself if you have ever seen a TV programme consider the arguments being put forward in support of the ID hypothesis. No, we are just constantly bombarded with evolutionist propaganda.

God or Chance? This is much too important
to be left to the people who tell society what to think. If ID can be falsified by empirical science, for example by demonstrating a meaningful new structure self assembling without design input, then let it be so falsified. But if ID is being shouted down and suppressed by arrogant establishment bullies, then maybe consideration could be given to the possibility that evolution is an elaborate deception promoted and sustained by powers who want to stop you thinking
about Christianity perhaps being true. If it is, then we will be giving account to God for our wrongdoing, including our culpable unbelief, sooner than we think.(*) it is conceded that many ID advocates including Michael Behe, accept many aspect of evolution including long ages and a common ancestor, hence my carefully qualified description of evolution, a word that is claimed to mean many different things. I think Behe is wrong to accept long ages and common descent, but that does not invalidate the facts and arguments set out in his books and lectures.